When we want to learn something
new, we have to figure out what are the main guideposts in the
terrain of a body of knowledge. And that's what we call the
structure of the disciplines  the big ideas, the big modes
of inquiry that are used in history, mathematics, science and
so on. And when teachers provide those structures for students
 so that they have a map of the territory  they
can learn more effectively and hang lots of other pieces of
information onto that understanding. So that the structure of
knowledge itself becomes a learning and a teaching tool.
Linda Darling-Hammond

Key Questions:

How does the way knowledge is organized influence
learning?

How can teachers use the structure of a discipline
to organize their teaching and enhance student learning?

Learning Objectives:

Structure of the disciplines
– Teachers will understand that disciplines have structures
representing interrelated core ideas and particular modes
of inquiry. They will think about how to use these core
ideas and inquiry tools to help students understand disciplinary
ideas more deeply.

Pedagogical content knowledge
 Teachers will consider the kinds of knowledge of
content and students they need in order to represent disciplinary
ideas so that they are more likely to be understood.

Video
Program

This episode covers the ways in which
the organization of knowledge and understanding can
influence learning. It also introduces Bruner's and
Schwab's ideas about the structure of the disciplines.
Julie Helber, a fourth grade teacher at Paddock Elementary
School, Milan, Michigan, tenth grade biology teacher
Mary Edmunds at the Detroit High School for the Performing
Arts, Detroit, Michigan, and ninth through twelfth grade
teacher Avram Barlowe at The Urban Academy, New York
City, New York are all featured in this episode. Lee
S. Shulman, president of the Carnegie Foundation for
the Advancement of Teaching, provides expert commentary.